Fishing tackle



May 31, 1938. I J. G. LAWRENCE FISHING TACKLE Filed NOV. 25, 1955 @mmm 1ence Patented May 31. 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FISHING TACKLEJohn G. Lawrence, Tampa, Fla.

Application November 25, 1935, Serial No. 51,372 2 Claims. (01. 43-27This invention relates .to fishing tackle and more particularly to thehook and sinker type of tackle.

One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a new andimproved means for preventing fish hooks while in use from becomingentangled in weeds, grass or the like.

Another object of the invention is the provision of anew and improvedtransparent sinker having novel means for preventing its becomingentangled or caught in weeds, grass or other obstructions in the waterduring its use.

A further object of the invention is the provision of new and improvedmechanism for preventing twisting or snarling of the tackle while thesame is being used.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of new andimproved means for connecting the hook to the leader whereby the formermay be easily and readily removed or replaced.

A further object of the invention: is the provision of new and improvedfishing tackle which may be manufactured at a minimum cost, which may beeasily and readily assembled and that is simple in construction andeflicient in use.

My improvements will be readily understood from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the tackle;

Fig. 2 is a similar view taken at right angles from that shown in Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the connector with parts in section;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

In using fishing tackle in water containing weeds, grass and otherobstructions, great difflculty is usually experienced in attempting toprevent the tackle from becoming entangled in the obstructions or indisengaging the same after it does become entangled.

The present invention seeks to eliminate this difliculty by theprovision of new and improved means for preventing the book fromengaging obstructions and for guarding the sinker from becoming lodged,caught or entangled in the grass, weeds or other obstructions in thewater in which the tackle is used.

Referring now -to the drawing, the reference character Ill designates afishing tackle which comprises a hook I I, a weed guard I2, a connectormember l3, a spoon l4, a.snell or leader l5, swivel members l6 and H, asinker I8 and a line 20. The hook comprises a shank l9 terminating atits upper end in an eye 2| having at its lower end a hook portion 22.The hook portion terminates in the usualpoint 23 and a barb 24,- whichmay be bent laterally, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. Attached tothe shank of the hook adjacent its upper end is the weed guard I2 whichis pref- 5 erably of fine, resilient'wire rigidly connected at its upperend to the shank H, as at 25, and extends outwardly and downwardly as at28, and has its lower end portion 21 bent downwardly and laterally,terminating adjacent the point of 10 the hook. The lower end of theportion 21 may be, and preferably is, bent toextend transversely to thepoint, as shown at 28 in Fig. 1. The lower end of the wire may be bentupwardly from the portion 28 and wrapped about the lower portion 15 21,as shown at 29. The end portion may be bent to any suitable form forprotecting the hook.- By forming this portion of the guard in the shapeof a triangle, as shown, the sides 30 of the triangle will assist inguiding the hook around ob-. structions.

In order to increase the resiliency of the guard, the same may beprovided with one or more coils 3H1 intermediate its upper and lowerends. The guard 21 is preferably of light material so that it will notinterfere with the fishing operation or interfere with the fish strikingor taking the hook, but will be heavy enough' to guide the hook andprevent the' same from hooking grass, weeds or other obstructions.

It is desirable that means be provided whereby the hook ll may beremoved from the snell l5 so that a different type or size of hook maybe substituted if the fisherman so desires. In theform of theconstruction selected to illustrate one embodiment of the invention, theconnector member I3 is employed for this purpose. This member comprisesa body portion 3| (see Fig. 3) which terminates at one end in a loop 32,forming an eye 33 to which the leader or snell I5 is connected. 40 Theopposite end of the connector I3 is bent intermediate its ends to forman eye. 34. The part of the connector between the body portion 3| andthe loop 34 is semi-circular in cross section, as

. shown at 35 in Fig. 4, and is corrugated as shown 45 at 36 in Fig. 3.-The free end of the loop 34 is also semi-circular in cross section, asshown at 31 in Fig. 4, and is provided with corrugations 38 which nestwith the corrugations 36. The semicircular portions 35 and 31together'form a sinuous portion having a diameter substantially the sameas that 01 the body portion 3|.

Suitable means is provided for holding the portions 35 and 31 fromseparating when the hook has been attached. As shown, a closely woundhelical spring or resilient sheath l8, having an internal diameterslightly greater than the diameter of the body portion Si, is employedfor this purpose. The spring or sheath 39 is of substantially the samelength as the body portion 3! and is adapted to be slid over thecorrugations 36 and 38. When in the position shown in Fig. 3 theportions 35 and 31 will be held in contact, and, due to the sinuous orcorrugated form of this portion of the connector, the spring orresilient sheath 39 will conform to the corrugations and will be held inthe position shown by the friction of the parts. When it is desired tochange hooks, the sheath 39 is moved to'the dotted line position shownin Fig. 3 onto the body portion 3|, the semi-circular end 31 separatedfrom the part 35, and the old hook removed and a new one placed inposition, after which the sheath is moved to the full line positionshown in Fig. 3 over the corrugations for preventing separation of parts35 and 31.

The spoon I4 is held on a snell or leader l5 by a loop member 4|slidably mountedon the snell between abutments 42 and 43 fixed on thesnell. Anti-friction members 44 are preferably mounted on the shellbetween attaching loops II and the lower fixed abutment 42, as is usualin such constructions. Since the specific construction of the spoonorspinner and its" mounting constitutes no part of the presentinvention, it is-not thought necessary to further illustrate or describethe same.

In fishing with hook and line, it is common practice to employ sinkersof lead or other opaque material. The use of opaque material isobjectionable because of its being readily seen by the fish and itsmovement in the water tends to frighten the same from the vicinity ofthe hook. In order to remedy this difllculty, the sinker I8 is oftransparent material. In the form of the construction shown, the sinkercomprises a length of glass rod 45 which is attached to thetlink 40 ofthe snell or leader I! in any suitable manner. As shown, the rod 45 isbent at an obtuse angle and is secured to the link 40 by a strip oftransparent material 46, such as celluloid or material of phenolic orother composition, which is looped about the link 40 and rod 45, asshown in Figs. 2 and 5. The glass rod lends suflicient weight to thesinker, and the celluloid protects the glass from breakage. But even ifthe glass becomes shattered, it willbe retained within the pocket formedby the celluloid. The end portions of the sinker are inclined or taperedfrom the outer side whereby a minimum of resistance is offered to thesliding of the sinker over or around grass, weeds or other obstructionswithout catching or hanging on the same when the line is reeled in.Furthermore, the tapering of both ends enables the sinker to bereversiblethat is, it may be turned end for end, if desired.

Suitable means are provided for permitting the hook l9 to rotaterelative to the line, or for per- .mitting the sinker to rotateindependently of the hook, thereby preventing twisting and snarling ofthe line. In the form of the construction shown, swivel members l6 andI! are employed above and below the sinker l8 for'this purpose. The link40 has its ends bent to form eyes which engage eyes in the ends of theswivel members It and IT. The line 20 is attached to the upper eye orend of the swivel member I1. This arrangement also results in the heavyportion l8 hanging below the link 40 where it is free to turn laterallyto either side of the line to avoid entanglement with obstructions.

It is thought from the foregoing taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing that the construction and operation of my devicewill be apparent to those skilled in the art and that changes in size,shape, proportion and details of construction may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

-weight and transparent means for connecting said weight to said leader.

2. In a fishing tackle, a leader, a sinker, means for connecting saidsinker to said leader, said sinker comprising a glass rod bent at anobtuse angle and a link, a strip of ,transparent material extendingabout said rod and link, and a swivel for connecting said rod to saidleader.

JOHN G. LAWRENCE.

